Question

The scatter plot shows the number of flowers that have bloomed in the garden during the month of March: A scatter plot with points showing an upward trend with points that are moderately spread out from a line of best fit. The y axis is labeled Number of Flowers and the x axis is labeled Days in March Part A: Using computer software, a correlation coefficient of r = 0.98 was calculated. Based on the scatter plot, is that an accurate value for this data? Why or why not? (5 points) Part B: Instead of comparing the number of flowers and the day in March, write a scenario that would be a causal relationship for flowers in a garden. (5 points)

Answer 1

Answer and explanation:
Part A: A correlation coefficient of 0.98 indicates a very strong positive correlation between the number of flowers and the day in March. This means that as the days in March increase, the number of flowers also increases. Based on the scatter plot, it appears that the correlation coefficient of 0.98 is a reasonable value for this data since the points show a clear upward trend with moderate spread from the line of best fit.

Part B: A scenario that would be a causal relationship for flowers in a garden could be the amount of sunlight received by the plants. If a study was conducted where half of the garden received more sunlight than the other half, and the number of flowers was measured at the end of the month, a causal relationship between sunlight and the number of flowers could be established. The hypothesis would be that the plants receiving more sunlight will have more flowers than those receiving less sunlight.